Double-stranded RNA under force and torque: similarities to and striking differences from double-stranded DNA.

ABSTRACT: RNA plays myriad roles in the transmission and regulation of genetic information that are fundamentally constrained by its mechanical properties, including the elasticity and conformational transitions of the double-stranded (dsRNA) form. Although double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) mechanics have been dissected with exquisite precision, much less is known about dsRNA. Here we present a comprehensive characterization of dsRNA under external forces and torques using magnetic tweezers. We find that dsRNA has a force-torque phase diagram similar to that of dsDNA, including plectoneme formation, melting of the double helix induced by torque, a highly overwound state termed "P-RNA," and a highly underwound, left-handed state denoted "L-RNA." Beyond these similarities, our experiments reveal two unexpec

SUBMITTER: Lipfert J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4217419 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature